Words to Live By

By Barry Glenn

Norma Lopez Molina

I thought I wanted an iPad for Christmas. Until I got wind of the Siemens 64-Slice CT Scanner.

I’ve never seen one, mind you. But I ran across the name while editing one of the dozens of physician profiles you’ll find in this Finest Doctors issue and instantly thought it sounded powerful and mysterious—right up there with the Karl Storz Hysteroscope, Barrx Ablations and the EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound).

I know next to nothing about these devices or procedures, and you likely don’t either. But we don’t have to, not when the doctors we trust are so well-schooled in how these medical marvels work.

More than 550 of these doctors are part of our annual edition spotlighting Orlando’s finest physicians, as selected by their peers (and portrayed as Protectors of Health in the arresting cover illustration by Valencia College graphic arts student Mike Wagganer). In this issue you’ll find experts in a multitude of categories, from neurologists to heart surgeons, pain specialists to pediatricians. We also asked 10 doctors to tell us about memorable career moments, and those cover the spectrum with doses of inspiration, humor and heartbreak. And finally, in two special sections, doctors and hospitals tell you all about their practices, including the technological marvels they offer. Like that 64-Slice CT Scanner.
By the way, “slice’’ refers to an image representing one section of body tissue that a computed tomography scanner can isolate when taking X-ray views. When dozens of them are combined, the doctor can get a pretty clear picture of what’s ailing you. All you need to know is this: It could help save your life.

Elsewhere in our magazine this month, you’ll find stories about a caring choral teacher, a fabulous food diva, a dedicated belly dancer and the return of the beloved Orlando Solar Bears. An uplifting issue, if you will, just the cure for a real downer of a political season. Indeed, perhaps the greatest gift we have to celebrate this holiday season is not having to listen to any more commercials with stern voiceovers accusing one candidate or the other of shirking his or her duties or lying to the public.

I must admit, though, that those tedious ads have given me an idea of what to say to the jolly fat man in the red suit if I catch him in the living room leaving me dress shirts instead of an iPad:
“Mr. Claus, you promised four years ago to bring me an upgraded tech toy. Yet, here we are and all I have is this ratty desktop PC. I’m not better off than I was four years ago, Mr. Claus. What do I tell my children, the next generation being crushed under a mountain of debt, not to mention limited text-messaging plans?”

He’ll probably just smile and exclaim as he goes out of sight: “Rest up for 2016, and to all a good night!’’